Adaptation of Blood-stage Controlled Human Malaria Infection for Evaluation of Transmission Blocking Malaria Interventions in Malaria Endemic Countries.

A clinical trial, NCT06172686, is being conducted to evaluate transmission-blocking interventions for malaria in malaria endemic countries. The trial involves administering known numbers of malaria parasites to healthy volunteers to assess candidate vaccines and study natural immunity. The trial aims to establish an in vivo model for early-stage evaluation of interventions and will investigate factors such as immune responses, parasite dynamics, and mosquito infection rates. The study will recruit healthy male adults from a low malaria endemic area in Tanzania and evaluate the effectiveness of two antimalarial drug regimens in inducing high levels of gametocytaemia and mosquito infection rates. The goal is to identify promising vaccines before larger field trials. The trial is being conducted by the Ifakara Health Institute in collaboration with the University of Oxford, with an estimated enrollment of 24 male volunteers aged 18-45 years. Data collection is expected to be completed by February 13, 2024, and de-identified data will be shared during publication of the study results. [Extracted from the article]